Under His Jurisdiction

CHAPTER NINE

Nyx

The past has a way of finding you when you stop running.

I’m halfway through folding laundry the next afternoon when my phone buzzes on the bed. I almost ignore it. Almost.

Then I see the name.

My chest tightens.

I don’t answer.

It rings again.

And again.

Finally, a text appears.

We need to talk. I’m in town.

My hands go cold.

I sink onto the edge of the bed, staring at the screen like it might disappear if I look long enough. I told myself I was done with this. With him. With the explanations and apologies that always came wrapped around excuses.

I type a response. Delete it. Type another. Delete that too.

The doorbell rings downstairs.

My heart stutters.

That’s ridiculous, I tell myself. Coincidence.

Still, I move to the window, pushing the curtain aside just enough to see the driveway.

A familiar car idles at the gate.

My stomach drops.

He’s really here.

I step back like I’ve been burned, pulse roaring in my ears. I don’t know how long I stand there before I hear voices downstairs. One calm. Controlled.

The other… insistent.

I move without thinking, drawn by a sick mix of dread and disbelief.

Alexander is standing just inside the front hall, posture relaxed, hands loose at his sides. He looks like he always does—unbothered, unshaken.

The man facing him looks nothing like that.

“I told you,” my ex snaps, “I just want five minutes. She owes me that.”

Alexander doesn’t raise his voice. “She doesn’t owe you anything.”

I freeze at the edge of the hallway.

“I know who you are,” my ex sneers. “Big-shot lawyer. Think you can intimidate me?”

Alexander tilts his head slightly. “I don’t need to.”

My ex laughs, sharp and ugly. “She’s hiding behind you now?”

That does it.

“Stop,” I say, stepping forward.

Both of them turn.

My ex’s expression shifts immediately—relief, guilt, longing, all tangled together. “Nyx. Thank God. I’ve been calling you.”

Alexander doesn’t look at me. Not yet.

“I asked you to leave,” Alexander says calmly.

“This is between me and her,” my ex argues.

Alexander finally turns his head.

“No,” he says. “It isn’t.”

The authority in his voice is absolute.

I swallow. “How did you—”

“He showed up unannounced,” Alexander answers, still watching him. “I asked him to leave. He refused.”

My ex scoffs. “You didn’t tell me she was staying with you.”

“That’s because it’s none of your business,” Alexander replies.

I step closer, heart racing. “You need to go.”

My ex looks at me, wounded. “You won’t even talk to me?”

“No,” I say quietly. “I won’t.”

Silence stretches.

Then Alexander steps forward.

Not aggressively.

Decisively.

“If you contact her again,” he says, voice low and precise, “my firm will pursue a harassment order. I already have documentation of your previous behavior.”

My ex pales. “You can’t—”

“I can,” Alexander interrupts. “And I will.”

The confidence in his voice leaves no room for doubt.

My ex looks at me one last time. “Is this what you want?”

I don’t hesitate. “Yes.”

He leaves without another word.

The door closes.

The house feels suddenly too quiet.

I realize my hands are shaking.

Alexander turns to me then, his expression different now. Tighter. Something fierce restrained beneath the calm.

“Are you alright?” he asks.

I nod, even though my throat feels thick. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes,” he says firmly. “I did.”

I look up at him. “You threatened him.”

“I warned him,” he corrects. “There’s a difference.”

I let out a shaky breath. “You crossed a line.”

He studies my face carefully. “Did I cross your line?”

The question stops me cold.

I open my mouth. Close it.

“No,” I admit.

Something unreadable flashes through his eyes.

“Then we’re clear,” he says.

He steps back, giving me space like he promised he would.

But the damage is done.

Because now I know something I didn’t before.

Alexander Blackwood doesn’t just watch.

When he decides something threatens me—

he eliminates it.

And the most frightening part?

A part of me feels safer than I have in years.